ABOUT THE MATCHUPThe Lions and Owls will meet for the first time ever on Saturday. Both sqauds enter the matchup seeking their second win of the 2013-14 season.

COLUMBIA’S STATUS

The Lions are looking to snap the nine-game skid they have been on since winning their season-opener at LIU-Brooklyn. Columbia will be taking the court for the first time in 12 days Saturday, having been off from competition due to finals. The last time out, the Lions fell on the road to Iona, 83-67.

KENNESAW STATE’S STATUS

The Owls won their second game of the season, but have since dropped seven straight. Kennesaw State traveled to No. 16/15 Georgia on Dec. 15, falling to the Bulldogs, 91-32. The Owls' lone win of the season came back on Nov. 11, a close 70-68 toppling of Tennessee Tech at home.

COLUMBIA VS. THE ATLANTIC SUN

Columbia has had limited competition against the current 10 members of the Atlantic Sun, posting a 1-1 record in just two contests. The Lions victory came back on Jan. 3, 1990 when they took down East Tennessee State, 77-72, at home. Columbia dropped a road matchup to Stetson on Dec. 29, 1997 by a score of 74-65.

WARD’S BENCHMARKS

Senior Taylor Ward career stat line is among the best to play for Columbia women’s basketball, and is continuing to improve. Already this season, Ward has eclipsed the 100 assists (134) and 500 points (539). On Dec. 9, Ward matched her career-high with six swipes and now ranks among Columbia’s top-10 in steals with 121 in her career. With 97 made 3-pointers, she is also just two made treys away from entering the top-10 in that category. The Oregon City, Ore., native is also just 12 rebounds shy of 200 for her career.

THE 500 CLUB

With four rebounds against Colgate on Dec. 7, senior Courtney Bradford became just the 11th women’s basketball player to record 500 rebounds in a career. Bradford added six more boards at Iona on Dec. 9 to bring her career total to 509, just three shy of the top-10, as former Lion Katie Day Benvenuto pulled down 512 in her career from 1999-03.

FIRST-YEARS CONTRIBUTE EARLY

Columbia’s five first-years have each contributed early on in their careers as Lions.

-Carolyn Binder is tops in the Ivy League in free-throw percentage, connecting at a .875 clip, while also ranking in the top-10 in scoring and 3-point percentage.

-Tori Oliver, who has started nine games, leads the team with 5.6 rpg and is third in scoring at 9.7 ppg.

-Devon Roeper has played in all 10 games this season, crashing the glass for 3.4 rebounds per contest.

-Carolyn Gallagher had her best performance of the season at Iona, chipping in a season-high nine points, while securing three offensive rebounds.

Senior Taylor Ward has shown her high level of conditioning through the first 10 games, averaging a conference-high 35.6 minutes per game. Ward has twice played 40 minutes this season and has seen her playing time dip below 33 minutes just once.